William j



(No Model.)

W. J. FERGUSON.

THIMBLE No. 585,930; Patented July 6, 1897.

WITNESSES mvENrnRi iMSaLWMB-M W ATTORNEY warns co. PHOTO-LITNO..wAsumr-Tou. ac.

the slit.

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W'ILLIAM J. FERGUSON, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOGEORGE O. GILLINGHAM, OF MOUNT WVASHINGTON, MARYLAND.

THIMBLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part or Letters Patent No. 585,930, dated July 6,1897. Application filed December 15,1896. Serial No. 615,755. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM J. FERGUSON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residingatBaltimore, in the State of Maryland, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Thimbles, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide thimbles which are used forsewing with the ordinary needle, with a thread-cutter of improvedconstruction and made part of the thimble.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a side View of a thimble having the improved thread-cutter.Fig. 2 is also a side view of the thimble, taken in a differentposition. Fig. 3 is a cross-section view of the thimble, showing thepeculiarity of the cutter-blade.

The thimble is of the ordinary kind, made of metal. Below the usualpits, located at a, which receive the end of a needle when pushing theneedle through the fabric, is usually a smooth belt-surface Z),adjoining the rim 0. The improved cutter-blade d is formed in saidsmooth surface and the blade is integral with the metal wall of thethimble. The blade is formed by making a V-shaped cut or slit 6 in saidwall, and the point of the blade cl is bent outward slightly, as seen inFigs. 1 and 2.

The blade is slightly twisted on its basethat is, one inclined edge cZstands off farther from the slit e than the other inclined edge d Bythis peculiar construction all the cutting is devolved on that edge 01which is closer to This edge (1 of the blade and the [corresponding edgeof the slit comprise a shear which does the outtin g exclusively. Thereis so much space between the other edge d and the corresponding edge ofthe slit that the thread will pass in and out of said space freelyWithout being out. At the base of the blade and the bottom of the spacebetween the non-cutting edge cl and slit is a smooth or rounded-outopening f. This allows that part of the thread which extends across theinner side of the blade and which has been cut by the opposite edge (1to be drawn out freely without scraping the thread end.

The thimble is used in the ordinary manner, and when it is desired toouter break the thread the blade 01 is engaged therewith in a mannerthat will be readily understood.

The thimble may be made of metal that will magnetize, and by having itpermanently magnetized it will serve to pick up needles.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- A metal thimblehaving a cutter-blade integral with the wall of the thimble, said bladepartly separated from said wall by a V-slit, the point of the blade bentoutward slightly and having one inclined edge of the blade standing offfrom the slit farther than the other inclined edge so that only one edgecuts the thread, and also having at the base of the non-cutting edge asmooth or rounded-out opening, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

WILLIAM J. FERGUSON. l/Vitnesses CHAS. B. MANN, J r., LEE. I. VAN HORN.

